As a special treat for the Disney fanatic, I went on a backstage tour of the Magic Kingdom called the "Keys to the Kingdom." One of the big rules of the tour is no cameras, so you'll see quite a bit fewer photos from this day of the trip. Another rule is no kids, so I went by myself while Daddy and Benji slept in and then did the Teacups three times, the Indy Speedway twice, the Peoplemover, and Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. It's a little weird that there's part of the Disney trip that I didn't participate in, but I also got to do my way cool special tour.
It's too bad I don't have any pictures from the backstage tour, but let's see what I do remember. A large part of the tour was actually "onstage" where the tourguide would point out hidden details and tell the story behind various aspects of the park. For example, did you know that Disney World was originally not supposed to have Pirates of the Carribean? As a result, its version is smaller than the one at Disneyland and has a hill so that it can get outside the berm to its show building. And for many of the larger indoor rides the vast majority of the ride isn't actually within the walls of the themed park but rather in nondescript green buildings outside your view. It was very strange to see half of Splash Mountain turn into the green show building as we went backstage. It was even stranger, though, to see the Jungle Cruise hippos sitting on the side waiting for repair. We also got to see the parade floats and I will definitely say that the Electrical Parade floats look so magical at night and very unimpressive during the day.
As part of the tour we rode the Jungle Cruise on our own boat where the skipper didn't do his normal spiel but instead out tourguide pointed things out. Did you know that the restless natives are actually saying "I love disco"? Listen carefully next time. It's not an urban legend; totally true. A true highlight of the tour was going into the utilidoors, the underground corridors that service the whole park. It was completely unmagical in that it is a utility corridor with service vehicles, etc., but it was really interesting to think about what it takes to make the magic work. I know it sounds strange, but I liked reading the employee bulletin boards. And there were signs everywhere telling you what part of the park you're in and how to get elsewhere. But I think the best part was having a tour guide to ask questions of that normal cast members aren't allowed to answer, both with the questions I asked as well as the questions others asked.
But that's enough of my Disney fanatic stuff. Back to the normal vacation stuff.
After the tour I caught back up with the rest of the family and let Daddy have a bit of a break. Since I took Benji over to roller coaster, it's not like Benji even noticed Daddy was missing. We also did Small World, Aladdin's Carpets, the Tiki Room, and the Jungle Cruise. Unfortunately Benji was not very impressed with the Jungle Cruise, but I think the problem was he couldn't really see the animals from his vantage point. Maybe next time.
For dinner we headed back over to EPCOT, this time at Chefs de France. I had shrimp and scallops with creme brulee while Matthew had the beef tenderloin and sorbet sampler dessert. Last time we were there I had a fantastic escargot appetizer, but now that the appetizer isn't included in the dining plan I decided to hold off and get the escargot at the Food and Wine Festival. After dinner we went on the Malestrom twice and saw the fireworks/laser show.
In Tomorrowland they have a giant granite globe that basically sits on water. Despite its size and weight, you can easily push it and turn it. It's another one of those simple pleasures that in a big hurried trip you can easily miss but that really intrigued Benji.
I really like the family reflection in this one.
Throughout the trip I was on the lookout for Hidden Mickeys. I couldn't find this one in the unofficial Hidden Mickey books, but I swear there's a hidden Mickey on this surfer's swim trunks. Can anyone else see it?
Can anyone guess Benji's favorite food? And he sure got a lot of it on this trip!
For quite a while Benji has loved to walk carefully on sidewalk squares. At Disney World there are many different ground treatments and textures. A particular favorite was this patio near a food stand in Adventureland. He loved the trapezoid and square mix and both Benji and Mommy had to jump around the shapes and call out the shapes. It was a peaceful resting time.
On our way out of EPCOT for the evening, Benji found this cool sidewalk. It didn't have nifty shapes like the Adventureland patio, but it had lights. How cool is that?
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
